


Though the Years and Far Away

by parka_girl



Category: K-pop, MBLAQ
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-03-05
Updated: 2014-03-05
Packaged: 2018-01-14 16:06:48
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,450
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1272703
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/parka_girl/pseuds/parka_girl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lee Joon and Mir in space.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Though the Years and Far Away

When Cheolyong looked outside the window of his room, all he saw was darkness. Sometimes, if the ship slowed, he could see stars. Occasionally there were planets, sometimes close and often in the distance. But the ship never slowed for very long. 

He didn't mind as long as he was busy, but if he wasn't, and he was alone, then he found he couldn't stop thinking about all of the things he was missing. there were whole worlds passing by, unnoticed. Galaxies they'd zoom right through at speeds he could never hope to understand. Instead, he was surrounded by darkness. 

Sometimes, if he dwelled too long, Joon would come looking for him. The only person on this ship of thousands who knew when and where to find Cheolyong was Joon. He was a cook, and although he could actually cook with real food, the ship had very little of it (and what they did have was reserved for the captain and scientists, people who had much higher ranks thank Joon and Cheolyong). 

They'd met by accident. Joon was attempting to fix one of the food distributors and Cheolyong was the computer tech sent to assist. It took them less than five minutes to repair the distributor and only a few minutes more to become friends. 

Cheolyong didn't know exactly what it was about Joon, except that there was something (or many things, really) about him. The ease with which they talked to each other. Joon's obvious interest in the stars (maybe it was something everyone on the ship shared, but aside from Joon, Cheolyong had yet to meet anyone who wasn't a scientist who shared his passion). Or maybe it was as simple as the way Joon looked at Cheolyong and how he looked back. Not that the reasons really mattered all that much, because what really mattered was Joon, and space itself. 

It was a particularly bad day. Cheolyong had completed his shift and instead of returning to his room, he'd gone to one of the rarely used observatories. The ship had dozens of them, mostly used by scientists or during the slowing of the ship. And while Cheolyong visited when everyone else did, he liked it best when they were empty. 

His favorite observatory was on the opposite side of the ship from his room, but easy enough to get to. It was a smaller room with a conference table and oddly comfortable couch-type furniture bolted to the floor. It was located near the front of the ship and required no security clearance whatsoever to enter. But it did have a door that opened with palm access, which meant that Cheolyong had ample warning if someone was going to enter. 

But in all his years aboard the ship, the only other person who'd entered the room while he was in it was Joon. And Joon only knew about the room because Cheolyong had shared that secret with him. 

_If you can't find me_ , he'd said, at the time still unsure why he was sharing this with Joon, _try the third floor observation deck_. Joon had nodded and they'd moved onto other topics. But Joon had never forgotten and Cheolyong found that he was grateful. 

The door clicked open and Cheolyong turned from the window. Joon walked into the room and crossed wordlessly to him. Still without speaking, he reached out and slid his hand into Cheolyong's. 

Outside of the observation deck, they laughed and joked, talking as much as possible. But inside the room, and on occasion in their own quarters, they didn't. Sometimes Cheolyong though it was because the room invited silence. Other times he thought it was because sometimes they just had nothing to say and comfortable silence was better. He'd asked Joon about it once and he'd suggested it was more that that the room was filled with the vastness of space and that was enough to awe them into silence. 

But sometimes the silence was oppressive, like a big vice crushing Cheolyong. On those bad days, he would long for the stars, for reminders that there was more than the darkness. Joon's hand squeezed his and Cheolyong remembered he wasn't alone. And then Joon pulled him close. Arms wrapped around Cheolyong's shoulders. He'd settled back against Joon and they'd stare out into the dark nothingness of space. 

He felt Joon holding him close. He shifted, leaning back, eyes closed. The room was silent, save their breathing and the low, ever-present hum of the ship's engines. If he didn't move, if Joon kept holding onto him, Cheolyong could almost pretend they were back on Earth. 

It's not as though he really missed Earth, everyone he knew was long dead anyway. All he had left was Joon, who was with him. Who he'd met on the ship. But as much as he longed for the stars, he also longed for the stillness of solid ground under his feet. He had strong, vivid memories of his life on Earth. Even though he was only 16 when he'd enlisted and left, he could still almost feel the sun on his skin, the wind in his hair. 

He felt Joon's arms tighten around him, his face pressed against the side of Cheolyong's face, half buried in his hair. The silence slid from oppressive to something comfortable and almost comforting. Cheolyong opened his eyes, staring past their reflections and into the darkness. The six years he'd been on the ship had taken them millions of miles from Earth. But what was only six years for him, for everyone on the ship, was much, much longer on Earth. Cheolyong was sure that one of the hundreds of briefings he'd attended had explained why time passed so differently, but he'd never really understood that side of things. 

He'd wanted adventure, almost as much as Joon had wanted escape. And while they both found what they thought they were looking for, Cheolyong suddenly realized that they'd both actually found what they'd wanted, maybe even needed. 

He turned in Joon's arms, sliding his hands up and cupping Joon's face. He leaned in, pressing his mouth against Joon's, kissing him hard. He felt Joon's mouth open against his, deepening the kiss. Joon's fingers in his hair, twisting and pulling him closer. When they finally broke apart, Joon rested his head against Cheolyong's shoulder. Cheolyong slipped his arms around Joon, holding onto him. He tipped his head up slightly and that's when he realized that the ship had slowed. He pulled back slightly and tipped Joon's head up with his fingers. 

They stood, still pressed together, looking up. Then Cheolyong looked around, there was no else in the room. He glanced at the communicator on his wrist. There was a notice, informing people of the slowing, but nothing out of the ordinary. Cheolyong glanced at Joon and then dropped his hand and stepped away. He could feel Joon's eyes on him as he walked toward the windows. He stopped, looked up and then sat on the floor. It only took Joon a few moments to join him on the floor. They stretched out on their backs, looking up into the darkness, which has become filled with the light of millions and millions of stars. 

Somewhere, amongst all those stars and out of sight, Cheolyong can pretend, is Earth. He can believe their mission of exploration and discovery is worth something, that they are doing something. That it is it more than just the one-way ticket they signed up for. 

Although there is no one he knows left on Earth, he is sure his family has lived on. And this is for them. He knew what he was getting into when he enlisted, even though he was 16. And when Joon's hand slid into his, Cheolyong knew he'd gotten more out of this journey than anyone on the ship, save for maybe Joon. More than what he'd dreamed of, when he was just a child, hearing about these missions. 

And while they began as two of thousands, alone in a crowd of so-called citizens of Earth, people from across the planet and all walks of life, they still managed to find each other. They have the rest of their lives ahead of them, stretching out into the unknown. Cheolyong glanced over at Joon, who was watching him. He smiled and Joon returned the smile, squeezing Cheolyong's hand. Then they both looked up again. 

Joon was right, Cheolyong thought. The vastness of space filled the room, surrounding them. It made him feel small and insignificant. But Joon's hand in his, the touch of their skin, reminded Cheolyong that within all this vastness of space, he was not alone.


End file.
